


Father's Day

by flightinflame



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Daddy Issues, Families of Choice, Family, Father's Day, Fatherhood, M/M, Protective Phil Coulson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-15 02:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/844346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coulson has no idea why the team is seeming so withdrawn, until he realises that Father's Day is fast approaching.  None of the team have good associations with the day, but he's determined to give them something special.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Father's Day

**Author's Note:**

> This was betaed by the incredible ShadowHaloedAngel, without whom I never could have written it.

The tower had been strangely quiet recently - everyone seemed more withdrawn, to be spending more time on their own. Worse, when just a few weeks previously Phil had finally managed to train both Steve and Thor to go food shopping without getting confused, they were refusing to go to the shops. Phil sighed slightly, wondering whether this was a whole team decision to make his life as hard as possible. 

He asked JARVIS politely where the team were.  
"Sir is in his workshop with the door locked. Captain Rogers is in the gym and has just broken his third punching bag of the day. Agent Romanoff is on the range. Agent Barton is in the vents. Doctor Banner is in his laboratory staring at the wall and Thor is pacing in his room."

Coulson wondered when babysitting a team of superheroes had become his job. A team of sulking superheroes at that. He was fairly sure that whatever he'd done wrong, it couldn't be terrible enough to deserve this. But he would have to deal with it. 

First though, he needed to make sure they all had some food for dinner tonight. He picked up an empty bag and pulled the shopping list of the fridge.  
"Jarvis, can you ask if anyone wants to come with me?"

There was a momentary pause.  
"I am sorry Agent Coulson. None of them wish to accompany you, although Captain Rogers and Doctor Banner did thank you for your offer." 

Coulson rolled his eyes and headed out, wondering why he was the one left to deal with it. He headed to the supermarket, considering appealing to Fury's better nature and asking to be re-classified as dead - not a serious option, but it made him smile none the less. 

He checked the list, wondering who wanted strawberry natural yoghurt and organic banana semi-skimmed milk - his guess was probably Bruce, or potentially Natasha. But then, sometimes these choices ended up being Tony's, much to his surprise - he hadn't expected the engineer to have such a sophisticated palate. He picked up a basket and walked into the shop, only to pause for a moment when he saw the display in front of him.

Oh.

Well, that explained everyone's behaviour. Father's Day was in a couple of days, and he could see how that might be difficult for his team. He cursed himself mentally for not having registered it before - it was his job to realise when things might have been distressing for his team, to keep them feeling calm and safe. No wonder no-one wanted to leave the tower when stepping outside meant being faced with posters and cards everywhere declaring it to be Father's Day; a time for family and all those other associations. Associations which his team either didn't have, or had only for them to be irrevocably tainted.

Coulson made a mental note to send a card home to his own father, then tried to work out what to do with the team. He couldn't just ignore their distress, but he didn't want to make matters worse for them either. He completed the shopping, and then he headed home, going to the kitchen to unpack.

He smiled slightly when Steve joined him, still flushed from his work out, and helped to put away the purchases.  
"Thanks." Steve said honestly, pointing at the bags lying around. "For getting this I mean. I know we haven't been the easiest people to work with recently, and I'm sorry about that. I'm sure, for what it's worth, that it won't last." He smiled nervously, and Coulson sighed softly and shook his head.

"I know what the problem is Steve, and I understand. Sorry I didn't realise earlier."  
"It's fine..." Steve hesitated a moment, then looked back at Coulson. "What... what do you think I can do to help them?"

The question startled Phil a little, but it made sense - Steve was in some ways the father of the group and he cared about all of them. He would try and help them if he could, and for Steve in some ways thoughts of fathers were probably easiest: he had lost his father young, and grown up without a father figure. Compared to the others, Steve had got off relatively lightly.

That made Coulson's blood boil, although there was no outward change. The fact that not having a father made you lucky infuriated him, and he wished he could take revenge against everyone who had hurt his team, the people that were as close to him as blood. But there was nothing he could do now other than get them through this day.

"I think that we should spend time with them, make sure they have fun... but we have to not make too much of a big deal about it. They deserve to be treated with respect." He answered Steve honestly, looking up at him and smiling. "We'll make time for all of them... would you like that?"

Steve nodded and drew a small notepad and pen from a pocket, flicking it to a blank page and beckoning Coulson over. They sat down together and began to make notes, to form a strategy to make the day better for the people that they cared about.

It took almost an hour to get a rough plan in place, and then they had to allocate what they were doing - the aim was to try and make sure everyone got at least some time with each of them, and to ensure no one was alone for too long. Coulson wasn't quite sure when this had become part of his job, but he was glad for it. If he could make the day easier for the people he cared about, that was what he was going to do.

Now that a plan was in place, he relaxed. It wouldn't be long before he could put it into action.

The few days before Father's Day dragged slightly, with a tension hanging in the air that didn't normally exist. Luckily, Doctor Doom decided to try and invade again, which at least got the team out of the tower and into the fresh air, and Coulson found himself questioning his thought patterns. Still, this was better for them than the alternative.

The day dawned, and Coulson had set his alarm early, slipping out from Clint's grasp. Escaping from a sleeping Clint was a skill in and of itself, and one that Coulson had had to work hard to perfect. But now he had learned how to do it, knew which way to dodge the grasping limbs, and managed to make it to the door without even waking his octopus-like lover.

Now that he was free from Clint, he headed down to the gym, unsurprised to find that Steve was already there, his fists connecting with the latest modified punching bag Tony had provided.   
"Hey..." Coulson greeted him, walking over slowly, careful not to corner or trap the soldier. Steve seemed relieved to see him, some of the tension slipping from his body. He turned to Coulson and held out a hand, which Coulson shook. A slight thrill still ran through him at how casually Steve treated him, with the respect and friendship he had been offered so simply from his childhood hero. Still, today wasn't about him.

"So..." He hesitated a moment. "You ready?"  
Steve nodded, and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.   
"I'm going to cook with you first, then go for a run with Natasha. Then I'll have Thor spar with me, talk to Bruce about if he wants company on his next conference trip, and then hopefully I'll be able to get Clint and Tony talking about the latest arrows they've made. You collect Clint, and I take Tony out to the park, then we all go out for dinner and watch a movie as a team. No mentions of what day it is, we're just having fun and making sure no one gets left behind."

Coulson nodded, pleased with the ease with which Steve spoke. He doubted Steve had even realised he was included in the list of people that weren't being left behind, that he had registered that Coulson's day began with him taking care of Steve right now. It didn't really matter either way - as long as Steve was having fun.

"You need some time to finish up here Captain?"  
"I'm good..." Steve answered, stretching a little. "I'm going to go and shower, then I'll see you in the kitchen, alright?"  
Coulson nodded smartly, and headed down to the kitchen. It was odd to be treating this almost like a mission, but the organisation helped him and made sure that no one got forgotten or neglected the way that could happen otherwise. He wanted to make sure that every member of the team ended the day with at least one good memory, no matter how small. 

He had laid out enough breakfast supplies to feed twelve - or seven if the seven included both Steve and Thor – by the time that Steve came back from the shower, his hair still damp. He grinned at Coulson, and came to stand beside him.  
"So."

Coulson looked back at him and nodded.  
"So... ready to start cooking?"

It was a familiar process, making a meal between the two of them. Whilst Bruce and sometimes Clint were happy to handle dinner, neither of them was awake early enough for breakfast, and the two of them would often find themselves in the kitchen first thing trying to prepare meals for themselves, Tony and Clint. After a couple of these mornings, darting around each other, it had seemed sensible to choose to cook as a pair and since they were already making enough for four, another three didn't seem like too much to ask.

Coulson enjoyed the time to be with his hero, but more than that it was clear that Steve enjoyed the company - both of them had been in the army, they were used to the kind of companionship that they got there. It made Coulson secretly happy to know that that was one thing he had in common with his hero.

Eggs and bacon were fried, bread was toasted and beans were stirred, and then seven plates were prepared. Steve had apparently worked at a waiter at some point before the war, and easily rested four plates down one arm, and picked up a fifth, leaving Phil with just breakfast for himself and Clint. He took the plates and headed up to the archer, poking him into wakefulness.

Clint glared slightly at being woken, but that quickly changed into a pleased grin when he smelt food. He reached for it, and Phil handed it over gladly, checking his own mental itinerary for the day. He'd given Steve something to do, and made breakfast for him. Tony wouldn't be awake for several hours, and now that Clint had eaten he would probably nap again. So he would find Thor and spend time with him, then Tony, after that it would be Natasha, Bruce, Clint, and then a team dinner and movie. He could do that.

Phil watched as Clint finished his breakfast and pushed the plate over to the side after a moment, once every last crumb had been eagerly hoovered up. He leaned in, brushing his lips against the archer's forehead, his hand finding Clint's.

"Good morning handsome... how are you feeling?"  
"I...good?" Clint yawned, and frowned a little, and Coulson actually saw him deflating slightly as he registered which day it was. He gripped his shoulder tighter for a moment, but didn't say anything.  
"Busy day?"  
"Uh.... tonnes of paperwork I'm meant to be doing, especially because Cap said I have to keep the evening free..."  
"Okay, you do that, then I'll come round later and we can go to the range if you've done it all?"  
"Are you bribing me with archery?"  
"Archery or sex normally works." Phil answered, with the tiniest smirk across his lips. Clint rolled his eyes, but didn't bother trying to argue with it - they both knew it was true.

Phil ruffled his hair, kissed him fondly and then left him alone, heading to find Thor. He asked Jarvis where he was, and was unsurprised to find that he was on the balcony - he normally ended up hiding there early in the mornings, watching the city beneath him and the sky above. It helped him to feel at home. Sometimes he would fly around, but today even the God of Thunder seemed subdued, sat down on the edge of the roof and watching the people filling the streets below, all with their own places to go. He looked around as he heard Coulson's footsteps, and Phil realised that he looked exhausted. After a moment, he registered that Thor must be lonely - Father's day might not be a special occasion for him exactly, but he knew that it was a day for family, and family was always a sensitive issue for Thor.

He couldn't regularly hop between worlds either, meaning that he was left without them. The god got to his feet as Coulson approached, reaching out towards him and pulling him into a slightly too tight embrace which Coulson did not struggle to escape. If it provided him with some comfort, he was not going to deny him it.

"Something bothering you?" He asked gently.

"I am troubled. I find myself far from the family of my birth, and beyond that I find my own family of choice lost in sorrow for the day. I cannot help them from their misery and so I find myself ensnared within it also."

Coulson frowned a little. It was easy to forget sometimes, what a kind man Thor was, how much he cared about others and tried to help them. He could be serious but he masked it behind a childlike joy, and sometimes even Phil would not remember to take him seriously. Despite that, the god was wise and older than any of them, had lived lifetimes they could not imagine. The loneliness of being torn between two worlds and unable to help those you care about stung Coulson harshly enough. He could not even begin to comprehend how it would feel for the god.

"I am sorry." Phil answered, hand resting on Thor's shoulder as he pulled away from the hug a little, looking up into deep blue eyes. "But I think that you being there helps them a lot more than you think. I know Steve's looking forwards to seeing you later, he wanted to spar."

Thor managed a brief smile at that comment.  
"I am glad that you think so. That my companionship may aid them... is of great reassurance to me, and fighting beside the captain is ... one of the most enjoyable pursuits I have entertained since arriving at earth... this day... it is not a ceremony that we observe on Asgard, but I can see how, in a family, it could help. All I see... is how my friends have been let down."  
"Not by you." Coulson answered, patting Thor on the arm and trying not to think about how his hand was dwarfed by the man's sheer strength. "You have never let down any of them."  
"My brother..."  
"Made his own mistakes...and... he may come back to you. If not, it isn't your fault."

Thor seemed to take a great deal of comfort in the idea that Loki would be his brother once more, and he stretched, heading in from the balcony. "If the Captain wants to spar, I shall be happy to oblige..." Coulson watched him retreat for a moment.   
"Oh, Thor, we're going out for dinner tonight."   
The god nodded and continued on his way.

Coulson gave him a few moments, then followed his retreating back, heading down to the workshop. He was unsurprised to find that he had been locked out - he was used to that from Tony by now, especially when he was in a bad mood or running on little sleep. Judging by how Tony was half-slumped over his work, his hands almost shaking, this was a mixture of the two. But it was easy to hack through the door, so that meant Tony could be got to if necessary. He knocked on the door, and to his surprise Tony looked up at him, eyes shining slightly. That desperate hope faded after a second, and he walked over, his expression almost blank.

"Yes?"  
"I wondered if you'd like to show me what you're working on."  
"I'm not making SHIELD weaponry." Tony answered, instantly on the defensive. "I make arrows for Katniss because he likes them, and because he's on my team, but I'm not going to make weaponry for SHIELD."  
"It's not that..." Coulson answered, trying to ignore the slight twist in his gut at the fact Tony thought he'd only get a visit if he could be useful to someone, if they could use him. "I just...was interested in what you were working on."  
Tony shot him an incredibly sceptical look, but beckoned him closer, pointing down on the table.

Tony was clearly in one of his moods where he couldn't focus on anything for long. There was an assortment of new arrowheads for Clint, and some fabric that looked like it might be for Bruce - he'd been working on trousers that both Bruce and Hulk could wear. Next to it, half open, were Natasha's bracelets, and then scattered further back on the table were the comms devices.

Coulson looked down at them, and reached out for an arrowhead, twisting them between his fingers.   
"Tell me about them?"  
"You want me to?" Tony asked, and he sounded almost painfully uncertain. Coulson nodded, and Tony shrugged. "Sure, whatever, tell me if you get bored..."

His opening explanation was hesitant, picking out words as he tried to judge what Coulson was interested in, providing the most basic specs and stats initially and then moving onto more detail. As Coulson asked questions, showed that he was actually interested, Tony opened up more, and he seemed genuinely happy to be sharing his work. Coulson was fascinated and carried on until Tony ran out of words. It was amazing seeing someone who was so devoted to their work, so interested in what they were doing.  
"Thank you Tony." He moved back to the door, and looked over his shoulder. "I'd like to see what you're doing again, sometime soon, if that's okay?"  
"Sure, whatever?" Tony answered, but as Coulson looked back over his shoulder, he saw that how Tony was moving around the workshop had changed. He seemed happier now, calmer, and Coulson wondered how long he had been waiting for someone to just listen to him about his work.

Coulson was unsurprised to discover that Natasha was in the gym. She always went there when she was thinking – it helped her to clear her head. Sometimes she'd want to box with Steve, or one of the bots - Happy refused to practice with her. Other times she'd be using weights or on a rowing or cycling machine, just trying to organise her thoughts. When Coulson knocked on the door and walked in this time, he found her perched on the edge of the boxing ring, staring blankly at the ground.

"Agent Romanoff." He greeted her cautiously, careful not to surprise her or to treat her with anything less than respect. She turned towards him and her lips tilted upwards slightly, as the emptiness that had been in her eyes a moment before was replaced with the false light she conjured so easily on missions.  
"Agent Coulson..."  
"Is there anything I can do to assist you?" He suggested, carefully. She shook her head. "I am fine." She answered, and for a moment he could hear defiance there, a challenge. Before he could say anything, she looked into his eyes. "Anyway, Russia celebrates Men's Day on February twenty third, so whatever it is that you are planning, you are several months too late."

"Sorry." Coulson muttered, almost awkward. Of course, if anyone was going to call him out on his plan, it would be Natasha. "It wasn't ...that exactly, but I understand how it came across that way. I just live with some truly incredible people who have been let down to the point that this day is difficult for them. I wanted to try and help show them that they are amazing. I'm not trying to set myself up as a father to any of you, because you don't need one. But you do need respect, and to hear when you've done well. That's the main thing. For too long, you haven't been told you're doing well when you deserve to be."

Natasha laughed a little at that, but she didn't say anything negative so Coulson relaxed a little, wondering if maybe he'd made the right call. Lying to Natasha never ended well for anyone, so he would be honest.

"I know that I am good what I do." She answered, a hint of coolness in her voice.  
"I know that. But you are remarkable, and it won't do you any harm to hear that again." Coulson answered. He was close to the entire team, but Natasha and Clint were different. Clint was his lover, but beyond that, he was someone who Coulson had found and helped, whose life he had transformed. Natasha, if anything, had needed someone more than Clint, but had had no idea how to ask for it, no understanding of herself as anything even approaching human. Teaching her had been hard, but rewarding, as he had seen the weapon they had found slowly transform into a person who would smile sometimes.

Natasha's thoughts seemed to be going along similar paths. She reached out and squeezed Coulson's hand.  
"It's a good idea, and I'm certain that the others appreciate it. It just isn't needed for me."  
"I know you don't need this Natasha." Coulson answered. "I know you, and I know how little you need. It was more that I thought you might like it."

She nodded, then pointed towards the boxing pads. "Well, if you want to help me..."  
Coulson went to put them on. He knew this was going to hurt, but the fact she'd accepted his offer of help meant a lot.

When they were finished, Coulson went to shower, stumbling a little on his way. He wasn't unfit, Natasha was just particularly good at what she was doing and not gentle about it. "We're all going to have a meal and watch a movie later if you'd like?"  
"Sure." She waved and then disappeared to clean up.

By the time Coulson made it to Bruce's lab, his muscles were beginning to ache. He knocked on the door, and blinked a little when Bruce opened it, the scientist's lips pressing into narrow lines as he looked him over.   
"What did you do this time?"  
"Sparred with Natasha."   
"Well that was just silly." Bruce answered, but he was smiling as he spoke. "Good to see you."  
"I was coming anyway, I just...thought you might help."  
"Of course..." Bruce searched for a few moments, and then handed over a bottle of lotion. "Put that on any particularly bad aches, it should help with them."  
"Thanks..." Coulson removed his jacket and did as he was told, relaxing as the pain was soothed away, redressing and standing there in his suit looking as smart as always. Bruce looked up at him and nodded.   
"Better?"  
"Much better, thank you Doctor."

"Glad I could help..." Bruce handed him some tea, and sat down on one of the sofas that he had around, indicating for Coulson to do likewise. "How are you?"  
"Good... busy, but good. And quite happy to be spending some time with you."  
"Thank you..." Bruce answered. "Steve just asked me if I'd like his company when I go to that conference in Berlin I've been talking about...I think that would be good. Tony might come too. I know that they're not particularly interested in the topic, but the support would be… yeh…good."

Coulson nodded in understanding. It was easy to forget, if you just saw the news, how remarkably intelligent Doctor Banner was, how much he could do. He sipped at the cooling mug of liquid.  
"I'm glad they're going with you."  
"It should be fun..." He paused then, looking down. "Are you sure there's nothing I can help you with, or nowhere you'd rather be?"  
"I'm sure." Coulson promised. "Why?"  
"Would you have time to listen to me rehearse this speech?...I have a presentation to make, and I'm..." He looked down slightly. "I'm a little nervous, I've not really done this before. Well, not since before..." He shrugged.   
"That's fine..." Coulson answered calmly. He knew how hard Bruce was working to be taken seriously as a scientist again, but that his situation and the commitments he had to the Avengers made it difficult. Still, he was making progress, and had a conference speech to give soon. It wasn't that surprising he was anxious. "Just take as long as you need."

Bruce shot him a relieved smile and began to talk. Coulson listened, and found that it was genuinely interesting - while the science was complex, Bruce was careful to explain the terminology, even adding in a few sentences for Coulson's benefit. Initially he sounded stiff and tense but as he relaxed the conversation became easier for him and he sounded calmer. When he finished, shuffling his notes and looking down, Coulson applauded.

"That went really well...and it was clear. You tend to rush though..." Coulson worked over it with him, and they ran through some sections again. By the time Phil left, he felt like he had actually helped, not just by providing company but by providing information that he could use. Bruce certainly seemed a lot more confident.

Coulson hesitated for a moment, running through both his and Steve's itineraries for the day, and then headed down towards the experimental range, seeing Tony and Steve discussing some arrows while Clint was turning them over in his hand. He watched as Clint fitted an arrow to his bow and shot towards the target, clearly delighted as it made contact with the sucker tip and remained in place without entering the material. He let himself into the range once Clint was out of arrows.

"Those seem to be going well." Phil commented, smiling at Tony who nodded quickly.  
"Oh, they are... we've just got a couple more adjustments to make, I'll have it done by tomorrow lunchtime so you can collect bird brain here if you want him."  
"He always wants me." Clint answered with a grin, moving over to Phil and resting his head on his shoulder. Phil rolled his eyes, but took his hand.   
"Were you having fun?"   
"It's going well. Tony has all the best toys."

“Of course he does…” Coulson was glad about the way Tony spoiled the team with presents and gifts – the joy they got from them was matched only by that which he found in giving them. “Now, do you want to show off for me?”

Clint actually bounced, grabbing up his bow and shoving a handful of arrows into his quiver.   
“Always.”  
“I thought so, come on…” Coulson followed behind to the range, standing out of the way and watching Clint shoot. The sheer control and strength in his body as he fired arrow after arrow was amazing to see, as was the simple focus on his face – this was what Clint did best, what he enjoyed most, and as yet another arrow hit its target, Clint’s lips quirked in a way that still made Coulson’s knees go weak. He applauded.  
“You’re amazing Clint.”  
Clint laughed slightly and shook his head, but he was clearly glad to hear it. After every perfect shot (and they were all perfect shots), he turned around to look at Coulson, to check that he’d done well and seek out more praise which Phil was happy to provide. He wondered how anyone could ever have had someone as remarkable as Clint and not praised him. He hated them for what they had done, how they had destroyed him. But Clint had built himself up again, and he really was proud.

“It’s not me…” Clint muttered, but there was a happy smile on his face regardless. “I mean, it’s… it’s Tony’s arrows, they’re remarkable, and the bow he gave me… I mean, this design… it’s better than anything I’ve had before…” He pulled Coulson closer by the wrist, pointing out bits of the design, explaining all the arrows.   
“I think that Tony’s arrows are fantastic.” Coulson agreed. “But I don’t think they’d do much good if I was the one firing them. A lot of it’s down to you.”

Clint grinned and kissed him softly, then leant in for a more gentle hug, his hand resting on Phil’s heart. Silence fell between them for a few moments, as both of them were lost in their thoughts.

“Clint… how are you?” Coulson asked, twisting slightly to brush a kiss against Clint’s forehead.  
“Better than I thought I’d be.” He answered quickly. “I mean, not brilliant, but… well. This ain’t ever been a good day for me. Or, well, any of us. But today it’s been alright. I mean, yeh, some bits are kind of shitty, but … I dunno. I’ve not got a dad. I’ve not had a dad for a long time, and when I had, he was kinda a bastard, so I’m better off without him.” Clint shrugged softly. “But… I don’t need a dad. I mean. I’ve got a family here, a team, and we’ve got each other. I don’t have the dad I used to pray for, but I’ve got this, and this is so much better. So yeh. I’m… I’m not brilliant. But I’ve got a family, and they’re still gonna be around tomorrow, so I can’t complain.”

Coulson pulled him into a tight embrace, kissing his forehead softly and stroking his fingers through his hair.  
“You’ve got a family now…”  
Clint nodded, and bent to kiss Coulson tenderly, and then squeezed his hand.   
“So do you.”

Coulson squeezed back.   
“Come on, or they’ll go out for dinner without us. We’re having shawarma, and then watching the Wizard of Oz.”  
“Why?”  
“It was Steve’s turn to pick.”

Clint rolled his eyes but laughed, pulling Coulson by the hand out towards the living area where the rest of the team were waiting. Phil started to walk towards the car, but he stopped when he realised that the others weren’t following him. He turned back.  
“Are you okay?” Maybe going outside wasn’t such a smart idea. They might have preferred to have eaten in given the reminders in the shop windows about the date.

“We’re fine.” Steve promised.  
“We just wanted to say…” Tony muttered, then petered out, leaving Natasha to continue.  
“Thank you.” The redhead smiled, walking forwards and embracing him for a moment before stepping aside, the gesture repeated by both Steve and Tony.  
“You taking care of us wasn’t exactly subtle.” Bruce grinned as he patted Coulson on the shoulder.  
“But we appreciate your kindness.” That was Thor, and at a particularly enthusiastic hug Phil’s feet left the ground.  
“And we love you.” Clint finished, pecking him on the cheek and squeezing his hand tight again. “Now, come on, dinner’s waiting.”


End file.
